I have a friend/client who had surgery for a benign brain tumor in November.
Her baby is now 8 months old and has been off the breast since the surgery.
Mom had lots of post-op complications including meningitis and spinal fluid
leaking from her nose.  She is struggling to get her daughter back to the
breast with little success.  Baby just refuses.  She has tried lots of
things including a nipple shield, offering in her sleep, lots of
skin-to-skin, co-sleeping.  Mom is sad and exhausted with pumping and bottle
washing, not to mention recovering from brain surgery.

Any suggestions?  She is wondering if it is perhaps developmentally too late
for baby to take the breast, but I'm sure I've heard of adopted babies going
to the breast this late.  I wondered if suck deprivation would work (no
bottles, no breast for several days) but then I thought that maybe baby
would "forget how" to suck at her "advanced" age.

TIA for any ideas!

Kathy
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Kathy Koch, BSEd, IBCLC
Great Mills, MD
mailto:[log in to unmask]
"Parents are often so busy with the physical rearing of children that they
miss the glory of parenthood, just as the grandeur of the trees is lost when
raking leaves. ~Marcelene Cox ~